Bailed-Out Chrysler Workers Drink, Get High

Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit isn't the sort of place where one would think party animals hang out. But the camera doesn't lie. Acting on a tip, WJBK-TV/Fox 2 News in Detroit aired a story this morning showing roughly 15 plant employees, over the course of several consecutive days, chugging beer and smoking marijuana in a park near the company parking lot. Several workers were caught in the act of trekking to a nearby convenience store to buy beer during their lunch hour. What makes this revelation especially embarrassing is that this is the same plant that President Barack Obama visited in July to give a pep talk on the importance of U.S. auto manufacturing.

In fairness, one should probably acknowledge that plenty of folks in sectors other than manufacturing take clients out to lunch or dinner and consume alcoholic beverages. The guys at TARP banks drinking fancy wine or martinis at expense-account dinners and lunches are another side of the coin from the guys at Chrysler drinking beer out of paper bags in the parking lot during lunch hour, and the same standard should apply. I guess you can also argue that the alcohol makes it easier for the bankers to do their job (close deals, build relationships) but harder for the auto workers to do theirs (build cars).